style advice from a recent college grad

My First Attempt at Ombre Nails!

Good morning everyone! Last night I saw how chipped my previous manicure was, so I decided I needed to paint them! But I didn’t want to paint my nails just one color, so I started thinking of some easy ideas that I could paint on my nails. That’s when I realized there was always one nail art look I’ve been meaning to try but never got around to it; and that look is ombre nails!

I love the ombre look. I used to have my hair colored for an ombre inspired look, so why not try my nails? The only problem was figuring out how to do it; I’ve seen so many different techniques, one saying it’s easier than the next! So I got to experimenting and used a technique that worked for me.

My first step? Get all of your supplies ready! For my ombre look, I used two Orly polishes, Passion Fruit and Lollipop. No matter what colors you use, I suggest you use the same brand of nail polish for both, so the texture and opacity of the colors are about the same. Next, I gathered an index card (or a piece of paper), a damp makeup sponge, top coat, and a toothpick! I made sure to open all of my polishes and clear coat, and kept them open the whole time. It’ll make it easier switching back and forth from color to color!

My second step? Put tape around your nails! It might sound silly (and it sure felt silly) but putting tape around your nail beds will help shorten clean up time. Instead of getting the gradient all over your fingers, it will land on the tape and you can easily pull it off!

My third step? Paint a base coat of the lighter color on your nails! I first didn’t do this, and the gradient was showing up too light for my liking. I decided to then paint the lavender on my nails before I added the gradient, and it significantly changed the opacity of my ombre.

My fourth step? Apply a good amount of both polishes to the index card! Apply a little more of the lighter color on top of the darker shade. Once you have the right amount of each color on the card, use the toothpick to swirl where the two colors meet! Don’t worry if the swirling doesn’t look perfect, it doesn’t have to!

My fifth step? Press the damp sponge onto the polish you painted on the index card! Some sites say to directly apply the polish to the sponge, but when I tried that it didn’t work for me. If you want to give it a try to save yourself the extra step, go ahead! But from my experience, a nicer gradient of colors comes out if you take the extra time!

My sixth step? Press the sponge onto your nail! The cool part is that if you mess up, all you have to do is press the sponge on your nail again! Try not to do it too many times, or else the gradient might turn into one color only. Then add top coat and you’re finished!

Overall experience? My nails aren’t perfect, but I’m pleased with the way they came out for my first shot at ombre nails. Some nails definitely came out better than others, and for a full ombre look I probably should’ve sticked to either two purple colors or two pink. But I think my nails look cool and I’ll definitely be trying more ombre looks in the future?